Toronto East York, Canada

Safety and Security in Apartment buildings

Recently we were notified that on Tuesday July 28, 2009, several tenants at 165 Barrington Avenue (Ranee Management) were victimized by an obviously well-planned and executed burglary that occurred during the daytime hours.

The notification received from the concerned tenants indicated that “the criminal(s) stole items to make quick sales. Items stolen included personal items such as jewellery, heirlooms, laptop computers, digital cameras, cellular phones, etc.” There was also a good suggestion to ‘get tenants to come forward and bring up any suspicious behaviour and/or observations from yesterday’. Click here to read the full comment submitted by tenants at 165 Barrington Avenue who were affected by the robbery.

The affected tenants lost valuable and irreplaceable items, some of which can’t have a financial value placed on them. Needless to say, this incident has been a distressing experience for all of them. Apparently, for some time now, some tenants in the building have expressed concerns about overall security in this building as there were other incidents in the past where tenants were burglarized. Tenants have also reported that cars were stolen recently from the underground parking garage at this building.

As a result of this frightening and unpleasant incident, a number of security and safety issues at this building (some of which were raised by the affected tenants) require immediate attention:

Security Cameras – This building has security cameras in specific areas that include the main floor entrance and exits, the laundry room and the basement which has exits to the underground parking garage. This raises vital questions: a) Are these security cameras operational on a 24- hour basis, b) Do these cameras have a functioning video to record activities in these areas and, c) Do the security cameras record activities on each and every floor in the building?

Security Guard – Where was the security guard when the burglary occurred? Is there a security guard on duty on a 24-hour basis?

Door locks – Is there is a need to look more carefully at the quality of locks that have been installed by the landlords/ property manager? Are these locks inferior and substandard? How were the criminal(s) able to gain access to these apartments?

Compensation – Tenants affected by the robbery are looking into the question of ‘compensation’ for their losses. However, it is important to note that leases/tenancy agreements contain a disclaimer with regard to landlord liability in the event of a robbery occurring in your unit. The normal response of the property management is that it is the responsibility of the tenant to purchase insurance to cover all losses occurring in the unit. This matter of “compensation” should be addressed within the context of whether the security cameras are operational, whether a security guard was on-duty and also whether the management-issued locks on the units are substandard. This may have ramifications from a legal standpoint and tenants affected by the burglary should obtain legal advice on how to pursue this.

This also raises questions as to whether this burglary was an ‘inside job’ and whether potential renters are being vetted thoroughly by the property management. Surely the video tape would have captured the burglar(s) leaving the building carrying bulky items after committing this robbery!

It is absolutely crucial that you contact the local police immediately to report a robbery occurred in your unit so that they could come on site to investigate promptly. In addition, after you have notified the landlord verbally, you should also submit a written complaint documenting all details of the incident.

Based on the above, we recommend that tenants in this building get together and establish a ‘tenants association’. Check our link TENANTS ASSOCIATION for guidance on how to establish your association.

We have included several useful links below so that renters can familiarize themselves with the various methods they can use to protect themselves and their property:

9 Responses

FYI – Yet again there has been another robbery at 165 Barrington. This time it has to do with vehicles parked in the underground garage that were stolen. It is 2 cars and one SUV type vehicle which was supposedly used by robbers in a recent armed robbery here in the GTA. How did those robbers manage to get access to the underground garage? Is this an ‘inside job’ or is security so lax in this building? Don’t those cameras work? I have lived here for years and am quite fed up with the inferior security system and the ‘don’t care’ attitude of the building management. The backdoor latch was not working and they werent’ even the slightest bothered that anyone from the street could gain easy entrance. Is this a violation under the Landlord and Tenant regulation? We need to be on our guard in this building.

We were notified by tenants that within the past few days the property management at 165 Barrington Ave have installed an updated security camera system in the lobby area (main entrance) and also at the various exits of the building. That’s a good start to ensure safety and security of tenants and their property….. (Weren’t the old security cameras functioning properly?)

That flyer prepared by your group was such a relief as I didn’t think anyone cared or knew what to do about the amount of problems in this building. My husband and I have lived in this building for over 12 years and were quite happy here until about 8 years ago when things changed with tenants moving in and out all the time. There are so many problems with the landlord and some of the new tenants. We haven’t moved as it is convenient for transportation for us to get to and from work. I agree that those door locks are not very good and a tenant should buy their own deadbolt lock. That burglary was so scary . . . what if you are a frail senior citizen and were at home sitting quietly and one of these criminals opened your door and confronted you? Scary! Didn’t the staff in the rental office ‘see’ those robbers who walk in and out of the building? And the landlord posted a stupid notice that tenants must be careful about not letting in strangers in the building as this is a ‘dangerous neighbourhood’! Seems that it is the landlord who is ‘dangerous’ due to dereliction of duty! The landlord needs to do something about security. And that information about capital expenditures, cupboard repairs and annual rent increases no greater than 3% was an eye-opener . . . has the landlord been ignoring that law? Maybe that is the reason why some people here pay such high rent compared to other tenants in the same sized unit in the building. There is always so much garbage at the back of the building and the underground garage. Another tenant mentioned that small trucks and passers-by stop by during the day to pick through the garbage. Does 165 Barrington have a reputation of being a garbage dump? So much scavengers are attracted here. Haven’t they heard of bed bugs! You didn’t mention noise in the flyer and we have a terrible problem with noise, a strange ‘booming noise’ that keeps you awake at night that is either from the plumbing or something else and also noise from tenants who don’t care who they disturb because they refuse to put down even little pieces of carpeting. And all those ‘out of order’ laundry machines are so annoying not only wasting your time but you are losing money and when you call that number downstairs in the laundry they say they don’t give refunds and go talk to the building management. Management here is always so rude, unpleasant and disrespectful. They don’t care about you and are annoyed when you go to complaing about a problem that you should not have to put up with. It is just about money and profit! We pay rent to live here and this should not happen. Speaking of flyers . . . how about that door hanger from building management last week stating they will pay you up to a total of $500 if you recommend friends to move here!!! Are they trying to lure new unsuspecting tenants? I will not recommend anyone to live here. I am giving a lot of thought to moving from this building but have to be careful where we move as problems are all over nowadays. Hope we can get a tenant association started in the building as we have some big problems here.

I for one have lived in 165 Barrington for almost 5 yrs but hopefully not for much longer. I’ve seen people move in and quickly move out because of the lack of respect from everyone. People in our building and area constantly leave garbage laying around and it causes concern what type of tenants this building is attracting. Can we not keep our building and building grounds clean people?? Do you have any respect to where you live?? If you can honestly say yes to my last 2 questions then why is garbage in our parking garage over flowing ALL THE TIME! Take initiative and take it to the bins out back…I DO! We all have to live together and it makes me a bit sick that kids, adults and even management just don’t care.

As for the Security guard that we never see….what a joke! He is too interested in playing with the kids instead of putting the buildings interests first. I would love to get ahold of his resume to see what kind of training and experience this guy has. I’ve actually talked to him a few times about tenants parking in our visitors parking along with other issues and its like he doesn’t know how to do what he is being paid to do….SECURE THE BLOODY GROUNDS!..lol. Honestly….what do we pay him for…babysitting or being a security gaurd??

Why don’t we have the lobby channel for those who have cable? We should be entitled to the lobby channel…we have the cameras or are they just another gimmic to attract tenants?

Going back to the lack of respect thing between management and tenants…it makes me chuckle actually cause our management office is directly beside the front door of the building and adjacent to the door leading from the back….it just goes to show how much they care about the tenants when they rent out their units that they don’t get to know you if they are putting up signs warning us not to let in strangers…LMAO.

We need a tenants association because its obvious that our management can’t do their job…I’ll be the first to sign up!

Excellent and interesting article. A bit disturbing, though.
Imagine paying rent for the privilege of living in a place where the property owner doesn’t seem to care about the safety or reputation of their property.

I live in the building in question. I have lived here for well over 10 years. I have experienced the “regression” from a building with good tenants and no need for a security guard to the kind of building it is now. We still have many good tenants in this building. As I understand it, we also now have a security guard a few hours a night.

In light of the article I’d like to raise a few questions:
What sort of screening is taking place when taking in new tenants?
Why, if we indeed need a security guard, do we not have one on a 24/7 basis? I mean, if a security guard is needed in the first place, one is presumably needed all the time.
Is Ranee Management indeed getting its money’s worth with the current guard? One can’t help but wonder, given the recent rash of break-ins.
I also question the frequency with which I find doors, including the garage door, left open for anyone to enter – no questions asked!

Finally, even though the property owner may not be legally responsible for anything to do with the B&Es, I can’t help but feel there is a moral responsibility to ensure they rent out units in a safe and secure setting.
It can’t all be about money and profit. It’s a sad day indeed when moral obligations no longer play a role in our lives, including the lives of our landlords!
A home owner can take certain steps to secure his or her property. We, as tenants, are limited in what we can control. Screening of tenants, main locks, and general security of a building, including entry to the premises, are things we have little or no control over. Therefore it is, in my view, not unreasonable for us to expect that these things are properly taken care of by our landlord.

Having a robbery occur in your apartment is such a violation of a person’s sense of security. However, that said, the tenant(s) need to do some actions to try to deter this activity happening in their apartment:
1. DO NOT TRUST the lock that is on the door. When this lock was originally installed (or replaced), it is an pretty good bet that it was not replaced with any lock that was ‘top of the line’ or even half way secure. GOT YOUR OWN LOCK – AS SECURE AS YOU CAN AFFORD. Before management can enter your apt. they have to notify you so a lock that only YOU have the key for would not be a problem.
2. Try to vary the time(s) you leave for work or go shopping. if only by a few minutes. For example, don’t always do your grocery shopping on saturday or sunday. ‘Patterns’ are easy to notice if a person want to notice.
3. Leave either a tv or a radio on low (not loud) on a “talk station – ie CNN or some other station. people will not know so sure that you are not there
4. get yourself timers for any lights. & use them. DO NOT SHUT OFF LIGHTS WHEN YOU ARE HOME & only use the timers if you are away.
5. keep valuables (jewellry etc) out of sight or better still if they are totally sentimental in a bank safe deposit box. these boxes are not expensive so are a wise action to take
6. keeping stuff out of sight also goes to cameras, laptops etc or better still – take with you to work since this is probably the longest time of any day that you are away & a perfect time for thieves.

Publishing the comment from the ‘Concerned Tenants at 165 Barrington Ave’ brings awareness to this worrying problem of home robbery and that building management must not shirk its reponsibility when it comes to the safety and security of tenants. A friend of mine who lived in this building for a long time said that there is a ‘revolving’ door of tenants. Some people didn’t stay due to various complaints with the building, some others just moved on while a few renters were evicted. Although there were a few exceptions regarding longterm tenants, not many renters were there for very long. As an aside, this constant moving has to impact ‘vacancy decontrol’ as it makes a mockery of the Annual Guideline Increase …. if tenants move out frequently then the landlords will charge whatever they feel like. I was made aware that there were huge differences in what some people paid for the same sized apartments in this building. I really sympathize with the tenants who were robbed.

My goodness . . . this is terrible what happened to those tenants. They must feel so violated. I would want to move out if that happened to me but then there is the lease agreement to think about. As for compensation – that is another story. The lease protects the landlord more than it does the tenant. An option might be to try and get out of the lease early. Would such a terrible experience be sufficient grounds to get out of your lease? Could the landlord hold you to the full term of the lease if you are too upset and afraid to remain in a building with inadequate security? I don’t what the best solution is but I think I would move.

It must have been an awful violation for those people who were robbed. Some weeks ago a friend of mine who lives in this building mentioned that 3 cars were recently stolen from the underground garage. He said that the security guard is only on-duty from 4:00 pm to midnight but you rarely ever see him patrolling. Another issue he was concerned about is that some tenants don’t provide family with their own keys so they wait at the entrance hoping other tenants will let them in. How can you tell who is a tenant and who is a stranger? Obviously there is a need for Tenants Associations in apartment buildings nowadays and not only because of the recent burglary. There are all kinds of landlord violations that are taking place and tenants don’t know how to deal with them. And why should the landlord be immune to any liability associated with burglarized units? I hope those tenants get some kind of compensation for those stolen items. That building was one of the better ones in the area but things seems to have changed for the worse in recent years. Don’t landlords do background checks on perspective tenants anymore? Hope they catch those horrid thieves and put them away.